City Prioritizes Development for Permanent Housing in Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas, Centers, and Corridors

ALBUQUERQUE – City Council passed R-24-22, which establishes a two-year policy for prioritizing site plan approvals and construction permitting of development projects that will result in permanent housing within Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas, urban centers, employment centers, activity centers, premium transit corridors, main street corridors, major transit corridors, and multi-modal corridors.

The current procedure for site plan approvals and construction permitting is “first come, first served”, which means wait times can vary depending on workload and staff capacity. The Planning Department offers an optional fee-based construction permitting program called “FasTrax” to expedite plan review with guaranteed plan review completion dates. This resolution accelerates permit processing of housing development projects along urban centers, employment centers, activity centers, premium transit corridors, main street corridors, major transit corridors, and multi-modal corridors, as well as the city’s MRAs, to be processed via FasTrax at no additional charge.

“The City Council understands that we need more housing options throughout our city,” said District 7 City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn. “I'm pleased that this legislation now focuses on transportation corridors and Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas city wide - the locations where the need is highest.”

There is a critical need for more housing units to accommodate the existing and future demand for housing at all income levels. To try to address part of the proposed housing shortfall, the City is taking numerous steps, including passing R-24-22, to spur development.

"This bill originally prioritized housing development in the downtown core,” said District 9 Councilor Renee Grout. “We amended it in the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee because offering FasTrax is one more way to incentivize housing development in all areas where it makes the most sense: along our transit corridors and in Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas."

“We're going to do everything we can to help increase housing supply,” said Planning Department Director Alan Varela. “This resolution will help speed up new housing development centers by getting those permit applications through site plan review and construction permitting as quickly as possible”.

This resolution is part of the City’s commitment to increasing the number of housing units and highlights the City’s dedication to continued revitalization.